


Master of War

by Koroshimasu



Series: Master of War [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Depressed Gavin Reed, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Terminator, Lust at First Sight, M/M, Mild Gore, Military Background, Military Backstory, Nines is seriously from the future, Nines is universal solider, Science Fiction, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:35:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21562333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koroshimasu/pseuds/Koroshimasu
Summary: Number Nine is a solider of the future. When he fails a mission, he is sent out on one final test to win the honor of coming back home. Discarded in Detroit City, year 2039, he has one goal: Destroy Gavin Reed, and he can return home.Choices and betrayal he could prepare for, but feeling something for a human wasn’t one of them.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Master of War [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1553926
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70





	Master of War

**Author's Note:**

> Series that was inspired by Terminator, and the song 'Indestructible' by Disturbed.  
> Check it out, it's a pretty good song.  
> Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2vU2nr5Jw

**Master of War**

Orders were simple as they’d always been: Destroy, wipe out, obey. Rinse and repeat. That was his life as he remembered it from the first activation status, or as they called it, his ‘awakening’. Language was limited in his future, but whenever he’d received his words, they came in a few forms.

Orders, missions, reprimanding, warnings, and threats.

He didn’t even know what year it was. To know was to gain leverage, and that was eternally forbidden. To feel was forbidden, to decide was forbidden, and to even think about options aside from completing missions was forbidden. Anything he’d been reminded of was that he was a solider, their soldier, their property, their ultimate tool for destruction. Just as the previous eight clones, Number Nine was nothing but a deadly machine to bend to the will of his masters whenever they needed him.

They called upon him now, and he knew he had one more mission. This mission was going to be seriously important, as it would determine his fate once and for all. Having been called before a council, they reviewed his case, as he’d slipped and made a terrible error during the last mission.

He’d hesitated, and hesitation was pure defeat. It was a punishable crime, and he awaited such a punishment he rightfully deserved for failing his masters.

“Number Nine,” they called him, their voices blaring and blazing in his head; the only way they communicated. He didn’t have the permission to see their faces, and he only would if they felt he deserved it.

“Clone Number Nine, you failed the last mission…we fear you may be defective.”

Never become obsolete. That would go against what he’d been created for, what his purpose was, and it would guarantee his permanent end.

The voices echoed, “To determine whether or not we should destroy you, we will give you one final chance to prove your worth to us and thus continuing your existence.”

He felt his thiriump pump and bio-components buzzing, swimming, spinning, and he closed his eyes as he stood in the dark room they’d kept him in upon waiting for orders.

“Your next mission has been declared,” the voices told him so before he even felt it. “Study it, carry it through, and you shall have retribution.”

Eyeing the orders that had been stamped into his mind loud and clear, he felt himself withering away. He had to travel through time and space, as the next mission wasn’t even in this plane of existence. The portals he’d been sucked in through were vast, wide, and impossible to comprehend.

_Another mission,_

_The powers have called me away,_

_Another time to carry the colors again…_

**Destroy Gavin Reed.**

“Wipe him out, come home.”

They didn’t need to hear him, but the word ‘affirmative’ remained on his dry lips, anyway.

^^^^^

**DETROIT CITY, YEAR: 2039**

Everything had changed; this world was different. He could see the sun, the moon, the stars, and he could feel the globe spinning. Everything burned at the core as it often had when playing with the fabric of time, but a minor discomfort was worth the title he was going to regain.

_My motivation,_

_An oath I’ve sworn to defend,_

_To win the honor of coming back home again…_

The weight of his weapons wasn’t great or many; only one bullet was required for the job. Fitting in the time he’d been propelled into, he sought out his victim. Gavin Reed was targeted for days, at first a difficult man to locate, but then Number Nine cleverly locked onto him and followed him throughout his daily activities.

What a dull, mundane life it was, too. He worked, slept, ate, worked, ate, and then would harm himself in ways Number Nine had never expected to witness. Perhaps the human was truly bored and tired of his life. Had he lost his purpose? Had he no path to walk down?

Number Nine saw Gavin Reed walking the night aimlessly from bar to bar, drinking himself into a stupor until he was forcefully thrown out of the bars he frequented. But that didn’t stop him, and by the next night, he revisited the same old places. He squandered a lot of money this way, and the murderous soldier could only stand back and watch, waiting for the right moment to strike.

_No explanation will matter after we begin,_

_Unlock the dark destroyer that’s buried within…_

To find the right moment to strike was going to be a mission in and of itself. Gavin Reed was hardly ever alone, and this was problematic. Failing the mission would entail being caught or seen, and then he would automatically self-destruct. It was required of him to do so, and Number Nine was quite careful of this gruesome fact. Reminding himself of his sworn duty repeatedly, he was able to track down Gavin Reed’s living address, but when he did, things somehow changed within himself.

The man lived in absolute squalor, and he didn’t seem to care much for his own safety. The front door to his apartment had always been left unlocked, and numerous times when Gavin Reed was out or at work, Number Nine was able to simply walk right into the abode. The first few times, he only walked in to check for a security system. To his shock, there wasn’t one in place at all. Only a huge mess that entailed dirty clothes, the stench of tobacco, empty bottles of alcohol, dying plants, a busted television set, a filthy kitchen, and cracked windows unlocked and partly open greeted him.

So much better; the man was making this far too easy for him. At this rate, Gavin Reed was likely going to end up destroying himself without Number Nine even needing to get his hands dirty.

_My true vocation,_

_And now my unfortunate friend…_

The next few times, he only paced around the empty, cold apartment to study whatever he could about Gavin Reed. He never even considered why he was doing this. Why did he care to know anything about this man? The only thing he should’ve been caring about was his death and the cessation of his existence. Yet here he was, walking around and taking his time to go through his personal items and assets like it happened to be the most natural thing in the world.

Perhaps he _was_ a defective product set to expire anytime soon…

When he made his way to the human’s closet to examine his clothes, the door behind him swung open with a dull creak he’d been too slow to consider. The safety of a gun clicked in determination behind his ears, and he paused.

“The fuck are you doin’ in my apartment?”

He knew it’d only be a matter of time before he was caught, but it still surprised him. How could it have happened that he-a universally distant killing machine with all the power instilled to be the apex predator-had slipped so easily under the grasp of a mere human being?

Had he underestimated his prey?

_You will discover a war you’re unable to win…_

“I’m _not_ gonna ask you again, asshole,” Gavin Reed spat at his back viciously, “who the fuck are you, and what do you want from me?”

In an instant, he’d dove towards the wall he was facing. Running up along it, he did a wall flip high into the air, turning and landing in a position that left Gavin’s back exposed. The gun fired, and two bullets pierced into the wall. Dust and debris blew forth, and it was the perfect distraction. Wrapping a hand over the human’s shoulder, he yanked his shooting arm behind his back, and he kicked the gun out of his grasp. It went crashing down to the floor, and he then stunned and took the man down by kneeing him roughly in the back of his sensitive shins. Kneecaps cracked against the floor, but he’d silenced the scream that had spilt forth from Gavin’s mouth in a hurry.

Keeping his gloved hand firmly clamped down over the human’s mouth, with a free hand, he tugged and fisted back on his dark brown hair. He at least wanted to meet his eyes before the life and light escaped from them…slowly….

_I’ll have you know,_

_That I’ve become indestructible,_

_Determination that is incorruptible…_

As soon as their blue eyes met, he was instantly transported into another world. Hearing war sirens blaring in a warning manner, he was once again reminded of the olden days. Once upon a time, he’d been the monster responsible for knocking down every door to get to his targets. Their screams and cries chilled the air, but it’d never had an effect on him…not until now…

Strange, the human before himself hadn’t even shed a single tear, and it was as if he’d almost _wanted_ his own life to end…

Didn’t he have anything to fear?! Didn’t he want to beg for his life? Cry out for one more chance?

No…he hadn’t even batted an eyelash; he simply stared, directly sending shock waves through Number Nine while he stood back and carefully examined the situation.

This wasn’t a war zone he’d walked into; this was a human being’s _life_. Never before had he been able to distinguish between the two realms and worlds, but now, it was the only thing he saw flashing before his eyes the longer he maintained eye contact with Gavin Reed.

_From the other side,_

_A terror to behold,_

_Annihilation will be unavoidable…_

Yes, there were explosions going off, but they weren’t happening in this physical realm; they were happening in Gavin Reed’s heart, and within Number Nine. For the first time in his entire existence, he was hesitating…

Hesitation was defeat…he couldn’t have that…

He blinked, and in the split second it took for him to do so, he hauled and shoved Gavin Reed as far away from himself as he could. The man soared across the bedroom, and he’d been brutally knocked into a wall. Once his skull bashed against the thick wall, he was out like a light.

^^^^^

“D-do you want money? I don’t h-h-have a lot, but I s-swear, I’ll g-g-give you anyth-thing you want if you g-go!”

They sat together in the bedroom, with the human bleeding from the minor head injury he’d sustained, and Number Nine was seated on a chair before him. In the last hour that it’d taken Gavin Reed to be resuscitated, he’d gone through the motions Number Nine had been trained to stumble upon before a hostage or a victim, but something lacked incredibly.

It wasn’t something he could ignore…

_Every broken enemy will know,_

_That their opponent had to be invincible,_

_Take a last look around while you’re alive,_

_I’m an indestructible master of war…_

There was begging, bargaining, pleading, and weeping, but it was forced. His superior senses and powers read through every move, and before Number Nine even knew it, he’d deciphered all the coded messages Gavin had sent his way. Reading beyond the words and their meanings came easily to the soldier, and he truly had to ponder why and how that was possible.

Holding down his bound hands, Gavin-completely void of any emotion at all-cried, “I w-will forget that I’ve s-s-seen your face.”

Even his stammering and stuttering was fake, and the futuristic killing machine was stunned yet again.

“You don’t want m-money,” the human quickly discovered, “th-then what do you want?”

No one had ever spoken to him for this long before; it was wrong, and it was completely forbidden. However, what was even more forbidden, and what was an even greater offense, was to answer back…and Number Nine found he genuinely wanted to answer back…

Why?

_Another reason,_

_Another cause for me to fight,_

_Another fuse uncovered now for me to light…_

His tongue sampled the words he’d wanted to press out, but he couldn’t…he just couldn’t. He wasn’t supposed to speak at all. A soldier never spoke unless spoken to and ordered to speak, after all, and who was he to disobey his orders? What being would do that?

Shifting, Gavin struggled, though like everything else, it was a phony show meant to portray something other than his truest nature.

Staring deeply into his eyes, Number Nine saw the question before it was even spoken out.

“Let. Me. Go.”

_My dedication to all that I’ve sworn to protect,_

_I carry out my orders without a regret…_

Rocking, Gavin’s body was creating a lot of noise on the old, wooden floorboards. “LET ME GO!!”

His mouth of course hadn’t been taped over, and Number Nine identified this immediate mistake. So many mistakes…he was slipping, tumbling, and falling down a pit he’d created for himself. Was he going to be able to climb and claw his way back up? If so, where would he go from here?

To Gavin…

Throwing his head back, the veins in his throat lying beneath the skin were prominent. Face beet red, Gavin screamed, “RELEASE ME!!!”

Another explosion went off, suddenly, and with his eyes closed, Number Nine bolted up from the chair, fists clenched tightly. “I WON’T!!!!!!!”

…..

He’d broken a rule. The most important rule was to _never_ speak unless commanded to, and so very easily and casually, he’d disregarded this rule. Something was tingling within himself deeply, and then, like a fire eating away at the core, it spread vastly. Cold wetness sprayed over his face, and the familiar stench of blood coated the room.

He knew this smell…he’d caused for it to happen on numerous occasions…was it real?

Gingerly, he brought a hand up to his face, and he met his skin gently. His hand came away, then, and he trained his eyes down to the gloves he was wearing.

No…no blood…only the thought of it as an aftermath of what was to become.

_A declaration embedded deep under my skin,_

_A permanent reminder of how it began,_

_No hesitation when I am commanded to strike,_

_You need to know that you’re in for the fight of your life!_

A whimper suddenly cut through the air, and he saw Gavin Reed kneeling at his feet. Head tilted up, hands clasped together in mockery of a praying position, he begged, “What’s your name?”

Names…titles…labels…all things he wasn’t allowed…this was forbidden, and yet he _still_ supplied an answer.

“I’m Number Nine.”

_You will be shown,_

_How I’ve become indestructible,_

_Determination that is incorruptible…_

^^^^^

The passing of time was a foreign agent to him, and Number Nine found he could witness it by staring out of the windows and past the blinds in the apartment. The sun set, and darkness crept across the lands. This differed from his world; his world was only night, darkness, and blackness. It was always night where he was from.

His mistake rang forth in from the back of his mind, and he scolded himself as he grabbed Gavin Reed up off the floor and moved him to sit on the edge of his bed. They hadn’t moved from the bedroom, and the human being was _still_ living and breathing…

So many fatal errors in his system, but Number Nine was unrestrained, now. Having nothing else left to lose, once his tongue felt free, the questions came one at a time.

“You want to die,” he commented accurately, his statement and analysis comprised of a lot of evidence and facts based on Gavin Reed’s previous behavior.

“Why do you want to die?”

Why…why indeed…

A defiant shrug came his way, “What’s it to you? Just make it happen, if that’s what you came here for.”

_From the other side,_

_A terror to behold,_

_Annihilation will be unavoidable…_

He wasn’t made for granting wishes; he was made for destruction, annihilation, and violence. It was all he knew, and it was all he wanted to go back to.

“You said you are ‘Number Nine’, why a number?”

This creature was rather perceptive, and it threatened him. Gavin Reed’s status had moved up from a ‘mild threat’ to a ‘serious threat’. This man was dangerous, and the sooner he put him down, the better.

He needed to go back home…but what was home, exactly? It wasn’t a strange, messy hovel like this…

_Every broken enemy will know,_

_That their opponent had to be invincible…_

Scratching his face, when Gavin Reed carried through with this motion, Number Nine stared on at him. It was then that he noticed a distinct, unique feature the human possessed that he’d never seen before.

A scar…a strange scar running up along the bridge of his nose and over a bit of his cheek.

He wasn’t allowed to ask questions. To do so would be another vital mistake, so he kept his questions back, and his mouth remained sealed shut.

“Number Nine?” Gavin snickered dryly, flicking some dirt off his tattered, dark clothes, “are you a clone?”

This creature was something else entirely, and as he spoke, he seemed to fish out of Number Nine all the words and answers. This was a major issue, and his alerts went off as he stood before the human.

He was so small…so short…

_Take a last look around while you’re alive_

_I’m an indestructible master of war…_

Mouth falling open against his will, he whispered, “I…am…Number Nine…another clone.” And like his predecessors, he knew he’d sealed his fate the moment he hesitated.

Hesitation was defeat. Gavin Reed had defeated him; a human had broken him.

Their eyes met again, and Gavin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Stop being a coward, Nines, and just put a damn bullet through my brain like you came here to do.”

Nines?

Head tilted curiously, he repeated, “Nines?”

“Sure, what are nicknames for, anyway?”

Slipping down further, he inquired, “A nickname? What’s a nickname?”

Eyes raking up towards the ceiling, the bruised human roared, “Stop bein’ a damn coward and get it over with!!”

_I’m indestructible,_

_Determination that is incorruptible,_

_From the other side,_

_A terror to behold…_

The screams did something to him, and he couldn’t tolerate it. Each and every time Gavin’s voice rang out and smashed against the walls and windows, it ricocheted back to Number Nine, and it stripped away a part of him. The layers were peeling back, and very soon, he was going to be an open mass of a chaotic mess. Not in front of a meager human being…no…this wouldn’t do.

In a warning growl, he spat, “Be quiet!”

Of course, there was resistance when it came to such a soul.

“FUCK YOU!” Gavin hissed vitriolically, “YOU ARE A COWARD!!! YOU DON’T THINK I HAVEN’T BEEN NOTICING YOU FOLLOWING ME, HUH?! DO YOU THINK I’M AS DENSE AS YOU ARE?”

_Annihilation will be unavoidable,_

_Every broken enemy will know,_

_That their opponent had to be invincible,_

_Take a last look around while you’re alive,_

_I’m an indestructible master of war…_

What were these words if not but a bluff? An over-exaggerated notion that he had some sort of leverage in order to barter his way out of meeting his inevitable end?

Face cold and cruel, Number Nine roared back, “You know nothing.”

“I do!” Gavin argued vehemently, eyes squinting up at him, “I’m a god damn detective! I’m trained for shit like this, you freak!!” Face turning red, his eyes grew dark and malicious, and it was quite a contrast Number Nine had never seen in his entire existence.

Had he met his true match on the battlefield?

Gazing down at himself, he saw that he’d foolishly discarded his weapon. So he’d arrived at the frontline, he’d entered the arena, and he’d brazenly sauntered into the lion’s den unarmed…

Another deadly error…

_Indestructible…_

_Determination that is incorruptible,_

_From the other side,_

_A terror to behold…_

Distracted enough, he hadn’t noticed Gavin Reed rebelliously bolting from the bed. His boots stomped down on the floor, but he hadn’t been able to cross over half a foot when Number Nine woke up to what he was doing. Arms latching onto the human’s elbows, when he dug his fingers deeply into his flesh, he felt just how fragile and weak this man really was. Bones were brittle, indicating that Gavin Reed wasn’t even eating properly. His poor health condition revealed itself in his height and weight, and it was no wonder that Number Nine was so easily capable of picking up the grown man and tossing him down onto his bed like a rag doll.

Gavin continued fighting and struggling, however futile it was. Not wanting to remain immobile, he tried kicking Number Nine back, and this infuriated the deadly machine. In an instant, in order to incapacitate the human, Number Nine threw himself on top of Gavin roughly.

Like claws, his fingers coiled around Gavin’s wrists, pushing them down onto the mattress. Number Nines used his powerful legs to separate Gavin’s thighs, then, he held him down firmly. The shorter male was now pinned down onto the bed right where Number Nine wanted him.

He’d won, and his efforts hadn’t been wasted.

….

But it came with a price to pay…

_Annihilation will be unavoidable,_

_Every broken enemy will know,_

_That their opponent had to be invincible…_

They were now open to each other’s penetrating gaze, and they were unable to break away from it. It’d been a fight for control and maintaining dominance, at first, but then, when Gavin shifted beneath him, Number Nine felt it turning into something else.

He took notice of it as soon as his fingers loosened their hold on the man’s wrists. No longer intending to cause harm, Number Nine simply pressed the digits to lie over the human being’s skin. His pulse thrummed into the tip of the soldier’s fingers, and through his thick, heavy layers of thick army vests meant to protect and shield himself from gunfire and explosive blasts, Number Nine could sense heat radiating off Gavin’s body. His temperature was at an all-time high, and it was steadily rising like a fire roaring upwards into the dark, thick clouds above.

Possessing an instinct he didn’t think he had, Number Nine moved his right hand away from Gavin’s wrist, and he swept it along his broad chest. Though his skeletal frame was slightly wide, Gavin was a bit emaciated. Underfed, malnourished…he could feel it…

The human male was panting breathlessly beneath him, but Number Nine couldn’t bring himself to stop. He touched and mapped out his way towards Gavin’s collarbone, studying the length of it carefully from left to right, and then right to left. He felt a knot beneath his fingers in one specific area, and he was certain it had to have been evidence of a broken bone once a long time ago that had healed.

Gliding his hand upwards, he touched the shapely chin jutting out defiantly at him, and his eyes were then fixated on the stubble that had littered the man’s skin. Facial hair…he didn’t have facial hair, but humans did…he wanted to touch it, and he did.

Stroking the rough stubble, he wasn’t sure what else he was looking for. Gavin Reed had prominent, pronounced cheekbones, and a slightly hallowed, sunken-in face. The bones were smaller than Number Nine thought, and he couldn’t begin to comprehend just what had happened to this man. What horrors and evil situations had he gone through?

…..

Whatever they were, he was still alive…it meant that he’d lived through them…it meant that Gavin Reed was a survivor, just like he was…

Too quickly, as his thoughts swam, uncoordinated and wild, Number Nine traced the shape of Gavin’s lower lip with his index finger. Despite the fact that he was still wearing his gloves, he could practically feel Gavin’s breath dancing along the tips of his fingers.

He needed more…

Ripping off the glove by nipping and holding it between his teeth, he yanked it off, never once wondering why he was in such a hurry.

Lowering his hand, then, he finally touched Gavin’s lips. Skin met skin, though Gavin’s lips were warm, and his own were cold. He could compare them as he pressed his hand over Gavin’s lips, first, and then back up to touch his own.

What was this? What was happening to him, and why was he allowing it to wash over him so easily?

Leaning down to stare one last time into Gavin’s eyes, Number Nine searched for the answer. He never obtained one, but rather than being disappointed, he continued to allow his index finger to part the seam of Gavin’s closed lower and upper lips.

_Take a last look around while you’re alive,_

_I’m an indestructible master of war._

**_To Be Continued_ **


End file.
